Dignitaries from Athlone were in national feast day travel mode as three elected representatives - one Minister of State and two Municipal District Councillors, visited international locations on promotional visits.

Well, well, so much has happened in the last seven days that it truly is difficult to know where to begin, or on what topic. But we’ll start with a good one, the St. Patrick’s Day parade which was held in Athlone on the Saturday, March 16, rather than on the 17th. There was a lot of Facebook criticism about the decision to shift back to the Saturday, but the volunteer committee who are the backbone of the parade arrangements stuck to their guns, and it turned out to be a great success.

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Fresh from his recent visit to Providence, Rhode Island, Town Mayor, Cllr. Frankie Keena, spoke of his positive interaction with influential members of the local community which will hopefully benefit Athlone in future times.

Fianna Fáil representatives from the Midlands region will host a public meeting on climate change and the future of Ireland tonight, March 21, in Athlone Institute of Technology, with the meeting to be addressed by leading experts on climate change from the energy, transport and agriculture sectors.

Hosted by Longford Westmeath TD, Deputy Robert Troy, in conjunction with Eugene Murphy TD, Barry Cowen TD, Cllr. Joe Flaherty and Cllr. Peter Ormond, the meeting will focus on practical steps that people can take in their daily lives to combat climate change.

In light of the tragic events which unfolded in Christchurch on Friday last, Cllr. Aengus O’Rourke, in his capacity as Leas Cathaoirleach of Westmeath County Council, has requested that a book of condolence be placed in the civic centre in Athlone for those wishing to express their sympathies to the people of New Zealand.

“Over the weekend I have arranged for both Athlone and Mullingar to open books of condolences for the people of New Zealand and for the Muslim community as a whole, following the tragic mass shooting dead of 50 people in the horrific act of terrorism in Christchurch last Friday.

The transition to Electric vehicles (EVs) is being made easier thanks to a range of Government supports, Longford/Westmeath TD, Peter Burke has noted. However, Deputy Burke highlighted that more will need to be added by the ESB if we are to meet our European obligations.

“For a country of our size, we have one of the more comprehensive charge point networks currently in place across Europe. But undoubtedly, we will need more in the near future especially in more rural and sparsely populated areas where drivers currently have longer distances to travel in order to charge up. I have highlighted this to Minister Bruton in the case of Westmeath, and also faults with current chargers on our network.

An inspiration to her Moate Athlone Running Group (MARG) colleagues, Athlone native, Emma Canning’s return to good health following her cancer experience is a continuing source of immense pride for the Brawny resident.

On Thursday, 7 March 2019, European Movement Ireland will be in the Golden Island Shopping Centre in Athlone for a voter registration drive for the European Elections 2019. EMI staff will be on hand to share information about the 2019 Elections and voter registration. Across the EU, people are committing to taking part in the European Parliament elections by signing up to the This Time I’m Voting movement.